This invention relates to a wheeled walker equipped with a frame mounted carry basket. Many persons, by reason of age or disability have difficulty in walking without a walking aid. Wheeled walkers are widely used by many such persons to assist in mobility. A wheeled walker typically has a frame mounted on four wheels and a pair of rearwardly extending handle bars which the user can grip for support while walking. The user positions himself between the handle bars behind the walker and pushes the walker forward. The wheels permit the user to roll the walker smoothly over the ground thereby avoiding the laborious action of picking up and moving a non-wheeled walker in step-by-step fashion. The handle bars can be fitted with brake levers that when squeezed by the user, actuate some form of wheel braking mechanism. Wheeled walkers are routinely equipped with a seating surface that permits the user to rest in the sitting position. The seating surface is usually positioned transversely between the handle bars within the wheel base of the walker to offer a stable platform for sitting. In order to use the seating surface, the user must turn around and sit down in the rearward facing direction, opposite to the normal direction of travel, with his feet resting on the ground.
Conventional wheeled walkers are frequently equipped with carry baskets for transporting articles. This feature frees the user""s hands for gripping the handle bars while the walker is being propelled and avoids the requirement to place articles on the user""s lap while in the seated position. Carry baskets are conventionally mounted between the front frame or front leg members, usually between upper and lower cross-members that brace the leg members against collapse under load. This arrangement has a number of disadvantages.
The positioning of the basket substantially forward of the front leg members undesirably increases the overall length of the walker. This makes the walker difficult to manoeuvre in tight quarters and adversely affects stability, particularly when carrying a heavy load in the basket.
In the forward projecting position, the basket is difficult to access by a user when positioned behind the walker to propel it in the forward direction, as the user must reach forward over the seat to place items in the basket. This motion can be difficult for an elderly or infirm person.
The forward projecting basket position is also undesirable when the user is resting on the seat in the rearward facing position. In this position, the basket is completely out of view of the user. This can lead to a feeling of insecurity when articles such as a purse or other valuables are stored in the basket and cannot be easily monitored by the user.
Some conventional walkers have the carry-basket fixedly mounted under the seating surface such that it does not project substantially forward of the front leg members. Access to the basket is provided by flipping up the seat surface. This arrangement has the disadvantage that the basket cannot be accessed from the front of the walker. Furthermore, under-seat mounted baskets are usually removed from the walker by lifting through the opening when the seat is flipped to a vertical position. Thus, the basket must be limited in size in order to permit removal from the walker with such an arrangement.
There have been attempts to provide for a dual-position carry basket on a walker. One such walker provides a basket fitted with bidirectional hooks at its lower end to engage the lower cross-bar between the front leg members and which rests at it upper end against the upper cross bar. In order to move the basket from the forward facing to the rear facing position, the basket must be physically lifted off the lower cross member, turned around to the rearward facing direction and lowered back onto the lower cross bar. This manoeuvre can be difficult when the basket is full, particularly if the user is elderly or infirm. Furthermore, the nature of the bidirectional mounting inherently limits the size of the basket. In particular, the upper and lower front cross bars are longitudinally spaced due to the rake or angle of the front leg members and the basket must be sized to fit into this limited area.
In a conventional walker, the provision of a seat to permit the user to rest is a useful feature. However, it often occurs that the user is too tired to continue walking and requires the assistance of a care-giver to continue travel. Conventional wheeled walkers are not adapted to support a seated user and be pushed by a care-giver. In particular, because the user is seated in a rearward facing position between the handlebars, there is very little space between the user and the care-giver, making it difficult for the care-giver to take walking steps without interfering with the feet of the user. Moreover, the conventional fixed forward projecting basket position makes it impossible for the user to sit on the seating surface in the forward facing position to permit the walker to be propelled as a transport chair by a care-giver.
The present invention provides a carry basket arrangement for a wheeled walker that permits the walker to be used as a transport chair with the user in the forward facing position, permits the walker to be folded without removal of the basket and provides a basket of a desirably large size.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a wheeled walker comprising a pair of front and a pair of rear leg members each having a wheel rotatably mounted at the lower end thereof, a horizontal seating surface transversely disposed at the upper ends of said front and rear leg members and a pair of handle bar members projecting upwardly and rearwardly of said seating surface, said walker further comprising a carry basket disposed between said front leg members, said carry basket being mounted for reciprocal longitudinal movement between an extended position projecting forward of said front leg members and a retracted position substantially beneath said seating surface.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the wheeled walker further includes a backrest moveable between a first position adapted to support a rearward facing seated user""s back and a second position adapted to support a forward facing seated user""s back and wherein said carry basket when in said retracted position does not interfere with the user""s legs when in said forward facing seated position.